Taking Time

If you planned to ride with Snake Stabler, you had to be ready for one sustained roar during the trip. Somehow there was this itch inside him that wasn’t scratched, apart from the scream of an engine and the blur of salt water waves rushing beneath to the tune of 80+ miles per hour. Once you got in and sat down, you had the distinct feeling that shutting up and hanging on would come naturally. Once you’ve committed yourself to such an accelerated velocity, nothing short of survival really matters.

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Flesh: Good or Bad

The Greek word sarx, “flesh,” has a wide range of meanings—some positive and some negative. Positively, it can mean simply the physical body (Acts 2:31), humanity in general (John 1:14), or all living creatures (1 Peter 1:24). As part of God’s creation, “flesh” in this sense is good. However, Paul most often used the term […]

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The Pre-Incarnate Son

Throughout the Old Testament, we encounter a mysterious figure referred to as “the angel of the LORD” (Genesis 16:7), “the word of the LORD” (15:1 NASB; Jeremiah 1:4 NASB), or even the “presence” of the LORD (Exodus 33:14). This figure sometimes takes human form (Genesis 16:7), comes as a voice from heaven (22:11), or appears […]

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Newborn

Two hours away from our own front door we traveled completely around the world. We didn’t miss a continent. From Paraguay to the Congo. From the Serengeti Plains of Tanzania into the tropical rain forests of Malagasy, across the Indian Ocean to mysterious Malaya. Then it was the tundra of the Arctic Circle, Scandinavia to Mesopotamia, Egypt to China, Manchuria to Siberia.

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Friendly—Inside Out

Are you attractive? I’m not referring to external beauty nor facial features. I’m asking if you are attractive—magnetic, winsome, charming, friendly. Listen to Proverbs 18:24a (KJV): “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.” Do you see the point of the proverb?

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Dialogues of the Deaf

Listening. I don’t mean just hearing. Not simply smiling and nodding while somebody’s mouth is moving. Not merely staying quiet until it’s “your turn” to say something. All of us are good at that game—cultivated in the grocery store, local laundromat, or on the front steps of the church building.

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Simplify!

High-tech times lead to high-stress tension. The never-ending drive for more, mixed with the popular tendency to increase production and intensify involvement, leaves most folks in the workplace not only exhausted but dissatisfied.

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Giving Is Godlike

Shortly after World War II, the saddest sight for American soldiers who were picking up the pieces in ravaged Europe, was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities.

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Reality Check

The older I get, the less excited I am about theory . . . and the more I care about reality. Who cares if the stuff that flows from my pen stimulates the intellect and gives folks fodder for philosophizing? So what if these words tickle ears and answer questions nobody is asking? Provocative, relevant, issue-related writing with enough creativity and honesty to keep the reader reading is what interests me . . . not much else. And so every once in a while I frown, squint, and peer objectively at a page and ask hard questions: Am I in touch? Is this worth mentioning? Does it scratch an itch? Will it make any difference?

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Whatever Happened to Him?

For years we Americans have been hung up on records and statistics—particularly in the world of sports. They have become the standards for greatness. What’s really amazing is that once “unreachable” world records now seem reachable. Some, like breaking the four-minute mile, are now so commonplace we hardly notice anymore.

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